Ban the bags vs. Bag the bans: The fight rages on

02/06/2013

The current population of California is estimated at about 37 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's how many people will be impacted by a potential statewide plastic bag ban.

California assembly member Marc Levine has introduced the legislation, Assembly Bill 158, to ban single-use plastic grocery bags throughout the entire state of California. If the ban becomes law, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2015, and grocery stores with more than $2 million in annual sales or retailers with more than 10,000 sq ft of floor space would be prohibited from providing single-use plastic bags to customers.

The legalization would allow those stores to provide recycled paper bags to customers from Jan. 1, 2015 to July 30, 2016. After that, the stores would charge a fee for paper bags. In addition, stores subjected to this bill would be required to make reusable grocery bags available for sale.